Skid protector for footwear



1967 E VOGT 3,355,823

SKID PROTECTOR FOR FOOTWEAR Filed Oct. 26, 1966 INVENTOR.

United States Patent many Filed Oct. 26, 1966, Ser. No. 589,739 8 Claims. (Cl. 367.6)

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention concerns a skid protector and method of making the same which is characterized primarily in that the skid protector which can be placed on and be removed from footwear comprises a sleeve portion to be placed around the front portion of a shoe and also comprises a loop portion connected to said sleeve portion for placement around the heel cap of a shoe, said sleeve portion and said loop portion forming integral parts of one and the same single entirety formed by a hose section open at both ends and having at least one peripheral cutout between its ends. The said sleeve portion includes a walking area for contact with the ground while anti-skid means, for instance in the form of pins, are connected to said walking area.

The present invention relates to skid-protecting means adapted selectively to be put on and taken off from shoe wear, and, more specifically, relates to such skid-protecting means of elastic material such as rubber.

Skid-protecting means are known which comprise a sleeve member for enclosing the front portion of footwear and furthermore comprise a loop portion connected to said front portion and placed around the heel, while said front and heel portions are interconnected by a tread part provided with anti-skid means such as buttoned-on nails and the like.

Anti'skid means shaped substantially in conformity With the footwear are made in one piece and depending on the specific material from which they are made are vulcanized, sprayed or poured. Such methods of manufacturing are rather expensive in view of high labor and mold costs. Other types of the above mentioned anti-skid means for footwear are stamped of low cost plate-shaped material and built up, but the building up of the stampedout individual parts is time-consuming and expensive.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide anti-skid means of the above mentioned type for footwear, which will overcome the above outlined drawbacks.

It is another object of this invention to provide an antiskid protector for footwear which can be made in molds while obviating assembly work or individual manufacturing operations.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will appear more clearly from the following specification in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a skid protector according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a section along the line lI-II of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows the skid protector of FIG. 1 applied to a shoe.

FIG. 4 is a development of the skid protector of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a modification of the skid protector of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a partial section through a skid protector applied to a shoe, but on a larger scale than that of FIGS. 1 to 5.

FIG. 7 shows a wall portion reinforced by a rib.

The skid protector according to the present invention, which comprises a sleeve portion and a loop for the heel ice section, is characterized primarily in that said sleeve and loop consist of one integral piece and form the wall portions of a hose-like profile. More specifically, the sleeve and the loop are made of a hose-shaped member, while the wall portions not required for the skid protector are cut out from said hose-shaped member. The hose can be produced seamless by spraying, can be wound or can be produced in any other customary manner. However, if desired, the hose-shaped member may be built up with a seam-forming strip of plate-shaped portions of elastic material which are composed to a hose. In this connec tion, it is immaterial whether the seam is formed by abutting or overlapping marginal portions.

Thus, the skid protector according: to the invention is composed of profiled material which can be produced in large quantities in a continuous process as strips or hoses and no post-assembly operations are required. The cutting of the skid protector from the intermediate product is possible with simple continuously operating devices such as roller-shaped stamping knives. The anti-skid means such as metallic nails or the like may be applied to the tread surface in any heretofore known standard manner.

According to a further development of the present invention and for purposes of further improving the skid protection, the sleeve or loop may additionally be provided with webs so as to likewise form wall portions of the same hose-shaped profile. These webs may serve as supporting means for skid-protecting elements and may extend below the heel of the footwear and, for purposes of holding the skid protector may be stretched above the instep, over the shoe joint, or ahead of the cap for the toes. Also these additional webs can be provided by exchanging the stamping knives without additional costs. For purposes of prolonging the life of the skid protector and in order to firmly hold the skid protection means, it is furthermore possible according to the present invention to make the wall portions within the range of the tread surface thicker. In this connection, it is advantageous to provide grooves in the thickened wall portions which extend in longitudinal direction on the inside or outside or both the inside and outside. Heads or shanks of the tips of the anti-skid means are countersunk into said grooves.

In order to maintain an approximately uniform thickness and expansibility of the wall portions in circumferential direction, the tread surface may, for purposes of better securing the anti-skid means, be provided with ribs extending in longitudinal direction of the skid protector and arranged on the outside and inside or only on the outside. The nails or the like forming anti-skid means will then be fastened in the ribs.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, the skid protector according to FIG. 1 comprises a sleeve 1, a loop portion 2 and a web 3. If desired, web 3 may also be omitted. All of the portions 1, 2 and 3 form the wall of a correspondingly cut hose as is clearly evident from FIG. 2. These portions 1 and 3 are, in the lower area thereof which serves as tread surface, thickened and equipped with nails 5 forming the anti-skid means. FIG. 1 shows the skid protector prior to its application and as it has been cut out from a hose section. FIG. 3 shows the skid protector of FIG. 1 as applied to a shoe. It will be noted from a comparison of FIGS. 1 and 3 with each other that the portion 2a of FIG. 1 has according to FIG. 3 been pulled back and placed over the heel portion 15 of the shoe S. When a person equipped with footwear and a skid protector therefor as shown in the drawing places his foot on the ground, the nails 5 on the tread surfaces 4 will be substantially vertical due to the expansion of the lower portion of the protector as shown in FIG. 3 and will in this position penetrate the ice or the like. While the skid protector shown in rest position in FIG. 1 was cut from a seamlessly produced hose, FIG. 4 shows a cut for the same skid protector out of a band-shaped material which within the area of the thickened tread surface 4 is on both sides provided with grooves 6 and 7. Groove 6 is located on the inner surface (see FIG. 6) and receives the head 8 of the nail 5, whereas groove 7 receives the shank 9. The web located between grooves 6 and 7 is perforated at desired distances and nails are, so to speak, buttoned into said perforations. The cut according to FIG. 4 advantageously comprises some excess material 10 which in an overlapping manner is connected with the oppositely located marginal portion for forming a hose shaped profile. This connection may be effected by any desired bonding means such as, for instance, rubber cement or by hollow metallic rivets.

FIG. 5 shows a diiferent cut according to which the loop portion 2 is not formed from the upper portion of the hose. but from the lower thickened portion thereof. Moreover, for purposes of better holding the skid protector, there is provided a web 11 which eventually will be located over the instep. This cut when slipped over the footwear will assume a shape as indicated in FIG. 3 while additionally the dot-dash line web 11 will be provided. It will be appreciated that in this instance the portion 2b of FIG. 5 will engage the heel portion of the shoe S in FIG. 3. This cut can, similar to that of FIG. 1, be stamped from a strip and made into a hose-shaped profile.

FIG. 6 illustrates a section through sleeve 1 of a skid protector slipped onto the shoe. The shoe sole is designated with the reference numeral 13 while the upper leather portion of the shoe is designated with the reference numeral 14.

According to FIG. 7, sleeve 1 is of the same thickness throughout its annular portion and for purposes of receiving nails 5 has the outside provided with three ribs 12. One of said ribs will be in the center and the other two ribs will be at the marginal portion of the tread surface 4. Ribs 12 assure a rocking-resistant location for nails 5 the heads of which engage the inner surface under slight preload.

It is, of course, to be understood that the present invention is, by no means, limited to the particular embodiments illustrated herein but also comprises any modifications within the scope of the appended claims. In this connection, it will be appreciated that the webs and the loop portion may be shaped difierently and may be employed in a different number. However, the webs and loop portion must always form wall portions of a hose-shaped profile.

What I claim is:

1. A skid protector of elastic material adapted to be placed on and be removed from footwear, which comprises: a sleeve portion to be placed around the front portion of a shoe, and also comprises a loop portion connected to said sleeve portion for placement around the heel cap of a shoe, said sleeve portion including a walking portion for contact with the ground, and anti-skid means connected to said walking portion, said sleeve portion and said loop portion forming integral parts of one and the same single entirety formed by a hose section open at both ends and having at least one peripheral cutout between its ends.

2. A skid protector according to claim 1, which includes Web means integral with said loop portion and adapted to be placed around the heel of a shoe, said web means likewise forming an integral part of said hose section.

3. A skid protector according to claim 2, in which said web means includes a walking portion for contact with the ground and anti-skid means mounted on said last mentioned walking portion.

4. A skid protector according to claim 3, in which the walking portion of said sleeve portion and said web means are thicker than the remaining portions of said skid protector.

5. A skid protector according to claim 4, in which said thicker portions have at least one side thereof provided with groove means extending in the longitudinal direction of said skid protector.

6. A skid protector of elastic material adapted to be placed on and be removed from footwear, which comprises: a sleeve portion to be placed around the front portion of a shoe, a loop portion for placement around the heel cap of a shoe, web means adapted to be placed around the heel of a shoe and the walking area thereof, said sleeve portion and said web means having walking portions for contact with the ground, and anti-skid means connected to said walking portions, said sleeve portion and said web means forming parts of one and the same single integral entirety of a tubular contour.

7. A skid protector according to claim 6, in which said walking portions are thicker than the remaining portions of said skid protector and are formed by ribs extending in the longitudinal direction of said skid protector.

8. A method of making a skid protector, which includes the steps of preparing a hose of elastic material, cutting the same to length in conformity with the desired length of the skid protector to be placed on a shoe, cutting from the thus obtained hose section portions from oppositely located peripheral areas so that there remains a sleeve portion adapted to receive the front portion of a shoe, and there also remains a web portion for connecting around the heel cap while exposing a lower and upper portion of the shoe when slipped onto the same.

References Qited UNITED STATES PATENTS 418,830 l/1890 Voorhis et al. 367.6 2,079,331 5/1937 Nyhagen 367.4 2,189,489 2/1940 Fritz 367.6 3,075,307 l/1963 Berker 367.7

PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner. 

1. A SKID PROTECTOR OF ELASTIC MATERIAL ADAPTED TO BE PLACED ON AND BE REMOVED FROM FOOTWEAR, WHICH COMPRISES: A SLEEVE PORTION TO BE PLACED AROUND THE FRONT PORTION OF A SHOE, AND ALSO COMPRISES A LOOP PORTION CONNECTED TO SAID SLEEVE PORTION FOR PLACEMENT AROUND THE HEEL CAP OF A SHOE, SAID SLEEVE PORTION INCLUDING A WALKING PORTION FOR CONTACT WITH THE GROUND, AND ANTI-SKID MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID WALKING PORTION, SAID SLEEVE PORTION AND SAID LOOP PORTION FORMING INTEGRAL PARTS OF ONE AND THE SAME SINGLE ENTIRELY FORMED BY A HOSE SECTION OPEN AT BOTH ENDS AND HAVING AT LEAST ONE PERIPHERAL CUTOUT BETWEEN ITS ENDS. 